Accord party presents Ositelu to challenge Buhari in 2019

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Accord yesterday unanimously presented the party’s flag to Isaac Ositelu to contest against President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming presidential election slated for February next year by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a national convention held in Abuja at the party’s national secretariat, the delegates from the thirty six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), ratified Ositelu to be the party’s flag bearer, in an indirect election monitored by INEC official.
In the election, there were ninety eight delegates, all of who voted for Ositelu, without any voided vote.
Speaking during the fun filled convention, the national chairman of Accord, Muhammad Lawal Nalado, said it was the first time the party will be presenting a presidential candidate since it was registered by INEC in 2007.
He said though many people had approached the party in the previous general elections to fly the presidential flag of the party, Accord refused because it did not want to go into the presidential election for mere show, especially given that it felt that it did not have the required national spread to win presidential election.
However, he expressed confidence that given how fast the party had spread over the years across the country, Accord is convinced that it now has what it takes to win the 2019 presidential election, hence it is fielding Isaac Ositelu, assuring Nigerians that he will not disappoint them.
Speaking further, Nalado said Accord remains one party that does not have a godfather or sole financier like other other parties, adding that the Convention remains the highest decision making organ of the party.
The immediate past national chairman of IPAC, who disclosed that he represented his constituency in the House of Representatives at the age of thirty, said the party has made the nomination and expression of interest forms for women and the disabled free to encourage them in politics, while the youths are required to pay half of the normal price to energize their interest in politics.
In his acceptance speech, Isaac Ositelu said he took interest in the presidential election because he believes that Nigeria should be mindful of the kind of future to bequeath the upcoming generations.
He lamented the high level of joblessness, lack of basic infrastructures like road and social safety facilities in the country, adding that if elected, the government of Accord will create six million jobs yearly. This he said, is achievable if the government has both the right policy and political will to implement such policies.
While vowing to confront the root causes of corruption rather than the symptoms as being done by the APC government, Ositelu said he has packaged a radical manifesto called I-TEN, which implies grassroots infrastructure development, trust between government and the citizens, economic revolution and provision for the next generations.
The chairman of the National Convention Planning Committee, Maxwell Mgbidem, earlier said the part adopted indirect primary election method because there is only one candidate for the presidency on the Accord platform.